Facebook and Skype in video chat deal

Facebook has announced its anticipated partnership with Skype to give users access to video chat.

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It is the first time Skype is accessible on computers without the downloaded desktop service, giving greater reach to the video chat service.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook wants to increasingly draw on the expertise of web companies, such as Skype, and entrepreneurs to build apps and services on top of its social infrastructure.

Zuckerberg says Facebook plans to work with “companies that are best in class in their industry, producing apps on a social infrastucture.”

Facebook said the partnership with Skype was long term and would continue to develop the product.

Zuckerberg also admitted that Microsoft buying Skype had helped the partnership along, making it seem more ’stable’ for them because Facebook and Microsoft have a longstanding relationship.

Tony Bates, Skype CEO, says, “We have already cracked desktop, we’ve started to crack mobile and the living room and to make it simple and easy for us to get to the web, there is no better place than Facebook.”

Facebook also announced updates to its text chat service and improvements to its group chat services, allowing people’s chat to be ordered by who they message the most along with being able to chat with multiple people easier in real time.

This story first appeared on New Media Age. For more digital stories and analysis’ from NMA click here now

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